Vietnam

All we knew about Vietnam was the war. But what we found was a country that was very interested in the US, was very kind, and took US dollars! We spent a few days in Hanoi beating the heat with some good beers, buying cheap dvds and silk ties on the street, and planning the next leg of our trip.
We were picked up in a van and transported to HALONG BAY, one of the world heritage sites. We spent the day on a boat, floating between islands and hiking in caves. Then we had dinner on the boat and met some people from MSU!! The next day we kayaked in the water. Pretty amazing.
We took an overnight train to the mountain town of SAPA. After hiking all day in the terraced rice fields, we were quite exhausted (I guess we shouldnt have done it in Teva sandles). We really saw how primitive people live.